Water's Effect
by Shining Zephyr
Summary: *SMacked; TWOSHOT* Mac waits for Stella at the crime scene and ends up unknowingly surprising her.
1. Water's Effect

**Wanted to be done a bit back. In honor of 100 episodes of CSI: New York. Here's to a prosperous 100 more and some SMacked.  
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**Spoilers for episode 100: My Name is Mac Taylor.**

**Do want, do not own.

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Water's Effect

"I'm his next target," he spoke into the phone, looking around and sighing as the people at the pool watched him in curiosity. "You might want to get over here, Stella. Something's going on, and I'm not liking it at all."

Her voice conveyed her worry. _"Right. I'm coming over quick as I can. Why don't you get dressed or something?"_

Mac shook his head, and he knew that she could feel the vibes on the other end of the line. "I have to make sure the stuff stays put here. This is a crime scene now. I don't want any evidence left behind. If this killer really is targeting a person named Mac Taylor, then I know we have to solve this case and fast. I'll keep watch and make sure nothing gets touched here."

He hung up his phone and placed it down on the bench behind him, shivering. He took his towel and wiped his face with it, feeling a pit form in his stomach. Something was going on here, and he was beginning to think it was personal again. Mac knew a lot of things could get personal in work, but when it involved his name being the names of murder victims, he realized this was more than just personal.

Mac shook his head once more, this time harder as to remove excess water possibly in his hair. He heard the sirens of the cars outside and winced as he twisted his neck from side to side. He hadn't realized he had been getting neck cramps over the past couple of weeks, but who could blame him? He'd been all into his work and his duty that he hadn't really gotten much of a break until today. And now here he was at the pool, standing by a crime scene once again.

He chuckled to himself. Work loved being his sole company in life, didn't it?

The sound of footsteps was heard moments later, and he looked up to see Stella and numerous uniformed officers striding in his directions. The NYPD paid no attention to the man as he allowed them to begin taping up the crime scene. Nodding to one of them, he ducked under the tape and walked over to Stella, who had a look of complete shock on her face. He frowned. "What is it?"

"I- you- why…?"

Mac blinked. Stella had really never been at a loss for words. She usually had something to say about everything, but right now, it was clearly she was tripping over her own tongue. He gave her a soft look and beckoned for her to follow him to the men's locker room. "Talk to me, Stell. What's going on?"

Flushing, the detective finally managed to splutter out, "You haven't showered yet, Mac."

He raised an eyebrow. "That's it?"

She ran her fingers through her thick head of hair and turned away for a moment. Mac kept walking forward, but out of the corner of his eyes, he could see the woman beginning to blush a deep shade of crimson. "Stell? What's the matter?"

"I didn't know you had so much muscles," she muttered.

He laughed a little, easing the tension- although right then, he could feel himself beginning to blush as well. "Being in the Marines all those years has really done something to me, is what you're saying?"

It wasn't exactly what she was thinking. In her mind, she was gawking at not only his gorgeous features and body, but the fact that he was still wet from out of the pool made her feel kind of… she couldn't describe it.

Mac seemed to glisten in the light. And she had never really seen a grown man, much less a crime scene investigator who was her best friend, shine like a bright star in the night. Except they were walking to a musty old locker room that didn't exactly hold a feeling of romance between a man and a woman. She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and blushed once more. "I'm saying- you look different, Mac."

He stopped in the hall and gave her a queer look. "Is that a good thing?"

"Mac, you're shirtless. I haven't ever seen you like that before," she finally burst out. "And I must say, if you went around like that more often in the lab, you'd have quite a couple of girls flocking at your heels. You look as if you just walked out of a shower or something."

That did it. The female investigator covered her mouth in embarrassment and shook her head. There was a silent tension that hung in the air for several moments as Mac studied her. He wrapped the towel more tightly around his shoulder and continued on, Stella rushing to keep up with him. She felt her stomach clench up until it seemed as if there was nothing left. There- she had completely made a fool of herself in front of her boss, and now she was probably going to pay the consequences.

Mac turned to her unexpectedly and smiled. "Girls flocking at my heels, Stell?"

She didn't dare say anything.

"I've got one woman doing that to me right now. And it's the woman I've been waiting for to do so for a long time."

Stella was about to open her mouth but stopped. Did he just say… what she thought he said? She shook her head in disbelief. "Mac?"

He gave her a gentle and teasing grin. "We'll talk about this later- in a much more secluded place. It's too public here right now."

And with that, he opened the doors to the men's locker room, and she couldn't help but want to chase after him as the doors shut behind him.

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**-just grins- I finally did it. About dang time I did something like this. I have too many fantasies of Mac Taylor and water after watching him get drenched in "Snow Day" some two seasons back. Maybe I'm just being weird, but did anyone else nearly die from his hot looks in those moments?**


	2. Shower's Effect

**Hah! An expansion. I never knew this would become such a hit overnight- literally. Anyways, here you go again. New IAB woman should die in a trench.**

**WOW. Thanks for the reviews and inspiration** suallenparker, lily moonlight, autumngold, Moska, chrysalis escapist, csi kane, Tomate, Bonasera, Jag Lady, FernClaw, anonymous, ssbailey, Hope06, CSIBabs, theAlyCat

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Shower's Effect

"You couldn't keep yourself out, could you?" he asked, his voice loud over the rushing of water over his body as he reached for the shampoo.

The day was done. The case had been solved, the boyfriend was practically on his deathbed, and MacQuinn Taylor was behind bars for the murder of Macabee Taylor and Melinda Katana. It had been confusing- so many people by the name of "Mac Taylor" had been found in New York, and one of them had actually been the killer. As the detective lathered the shampoo through his hair, he could hear Stella sighing on the other side of the curtain. "I can't talk to you through a door, Mac."

He chuckled a little. "So. About this morning- why were you so surprised? I'm not that good looking, you know."

She smiled and shook her head, leaning against the counter and hearing the water fall again. "I beg to differ. You've got the looks of someone half your age or something, and you don't think you look good? What are you thinking?"

"I'm not, Stell. I'm trying to douse myself in water and clear my head."

Stella laughed as she listened to the soap wash free from his hair and empty into the drain. Her thoughts drifted to a moment in which she nearly wanted to take off her clothing and get in the shower after him. She held his towel in one hand and rested her other hand on the counter. "Nice try, Mac. You're trying not to think about how I would look in the shower, aren't you?"

He gave a slight groan. "I'm not that horny, you know. I'm actually very clean."

"Figuratively or literally, Mac?" she teased.

The water rushed over his body as he ran his fingers through his hair. She was one heck of a woman. It made him wonder if he really did love her as something more or as just a good friend. There was silence in the bathroom for several moments before he finally began to wash his body and speak once more. "What do you see between us, Stella?"

The woman looked at the shower curtain in confusion. "Why?"

He shrugged, shuddering slightly as the water beat down on his backside and he scrubbed on his chest harder than normal. "Well, think of it like this. The entire lab sees us together as some sort of couple and everything. I see us as the closest of friends we could ever be. But what do you see in us?"

The woman fingered Mac's towel and took a deep breath. "I can't say I really know for sure," she admitted softly. "I want to see us as a family or something, but- right now, I can only see us as a sort of brother-sister relationship. It's hard to explain, if you know what I mean." She closed her eyes. "You kind of understand it, right? It's complicated and everything."

The shower turned off, and Mac's hand appeared from behind the curtains. The woman handed her companion the towel and sighed after he took it. "Fact is, Mac- I like you. I wish it would turn into something more."

He opened the shower curtain and looked at her, the white cover-up wrapped tightly around the bottom part of his body. The woman's breath caught in her throat. His eyes held a sort of caring calm, hand gripping the towel and stepping out of the shower. "Honestly, this is a little awkward," he tried to joke.

"I…" She shook her head in awe and blushed once more, smiling and turning away as best as she could. "I kind of agree."

She opened the bathroom door and allowed the man to go first, standing in the doorway then and staring at him with her wandering eyes. He turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "I can't be that good looking, can I? I'm wet, getting out of a shower and stuff, and you're giving me this look of a rabid fan girl of some sort of movie."

"Who wouldn't?" she asked quietly.

Mac opened his mouth but stopped. There was an air of stunned surprise swirling around them. He looked down at his towel and back up at the woman in front of him. She was still there, blushing as much as ever and looking away. He took a look at the nearest window and walked over, checking to make sure they were completely shut. Stella blinked. "M-mac?"

He turned to her, his eyes twinkling again.

"What would happen if you and I were both in the shower, Stella?"

She placed a hand over her mouth in shock. "Y-y-you're…"

His eyes held the serious and stern Mac she was so accustomed to. "The closet isn't that messy. And I promise I won't peek."

Slowly, a smile spread across her face. "You want to warm up the water, Detective?"

He walked back into the bathroom and turned the handle. Water gushed forward from the nozzle, and he dropped the towel from his waist.

This was going to be such a relaxing third shower for the day…

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**I'm not doing ANYTHING more with this. You want to, fine. But I would ask if you would give me credit and tell me where it was. Thanks.**

**The brother-sister idea was from the thoughts of the actors themselves and what they thought of Stella and Mac's relationship.**

**Hope you enjoyed the expansion.**


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